Paint trays are generally rectangular and have a sufficiently wide inner tray cavity to receive paint rollers therein. Typical paint roller sizes have nominally tray widths of 18-inch, 9-inch, 6-7-inch and 4-inch. A typical 9-inch paint roller tray will have a useful paint capacity of about a quart of paint. The bottom of the paint tray cavity is typically flat, with three upright sides and a fourth side, which is sloping. This sloping side provides the means for rolling the paint roller down into the paint in the cavity. The roller can then be rolled along the sloping side to remove excess paint from the roller and to evenly distribute paint along the roller prior to its use for applying paint to a target surface. Although the discussion herein will focus on paint, it is understood that paint trays are used for the application of other fluid materials (e.g., another surface coating such as a protectant; an adhesive; a roofing, pavement or driveway coating; a textured surface material, etc.). In a typical paint tray, the sloped side also has a texture pattern formed therein which assists in rotating the paint roller as it is pulled or pushed along that textured side and assists in distribution of the paint across the paint roller. Paint trays for rollers have been formed of such materials as metal and plastic.